10-Year-Old Girl Saves Her 3-Year-Old Cousin From Drowning

Columbia, SC (WLTX) - Last weekend, just a day before Mothers Day, one mother almost received news that her three-year-old daughter had drowned.

But thanks to a quick acting 10-year-old, this week has been all about hugs and kisses rather than flowers and tears.

If you take a close look at the bond between 10-year-old Amira Walker, and three-year-old Peyton, you'll see they are two cousins who not only share the same blood, but now a story they'll have for years to come.

"If I wasn't out there, she would have died," said 10-year-old Amira. The Saturday before Mother's Day, the pair was playing in the backyard. "We were just playing with the dogs."

The adults were inside cleaning when Amira says she heard a noise she'll never forget. "I heard a big splash when she jumped in, then I saw bubbles coming up off the pool."

Her younger cousin was drowning.

"She was crying and screaming. She was trying to call her mom," said Amira. Without hesitating, she ran to the pool to find her cousin gasping for air--her only thought: save her.

"'Cause I thought she wasn't going to survive, 'cause she was about to go down, then I just grabbed her hand really quick," said Amira.

"Oh, that's my little hero. She is definitely my little hero," says mother Pamela Doughty. Doughty was at work when she almost lost her daughter, but now, she's just thankful Amira acted so quickly.

"She didn't die, and that's the way I try to look at it. I mean, if you think your child could have died, that'll just break you, she is definitely my little hero," said Doughty.

When asked how she feels this week knowing her daughter escaped a near drowning, Pamela told News19 all she can do now is just spoil her little girl.